Capitec Bank has added investment platform EasyEquities to its banking app, allowing millions of its clients to invest in equities on stock markets in SA and the US.
The bank says the collaboration with the low-cost investment platform grants its clients greater accessibility to a variety of investment options in an affordable and simplified way.
Capitec clients will receive a 20% discount on brokerage fees when using the new widget and pay zero data costs when accessing it.
“EasyEquities have made investing accessible to all, through affordable fees, removing the need for minimum investment balances and using digital technology to create a simplified client experience. Their approach is based upon the same principles we have used to challenge the norms of traditional banking, making our partnership with them a perfect fit,” says Francois Viviers, executive of marketing and communications at Capitec.
“We currently have over four million app clients, who will now not only be able to invest in top SA companies but also those based in the US, a unique feature not offered by traditional brokers.”
Commenting on the partnership with Capitec, EasyEquities CEO Charles Savage says the platform is a qualified intermediary with the Internal Revenue Service, which simplifies opening a US investment account and lowers the cost of trading US shares.
“Our EasyFX feature allows rands to be converted to dollars within the platform and then used for the purchase of US shares.
“This partnership is the realisation of a dream for all of us at EasyEquities. To be able to work alongside the Capitec team has been a privilege and we are incredibly excited about what the two teams can do together in making investing simpler for all South Africans.”
According to Viviers, by giving South Africans easy access to investing, Capitec is helping shift investment behaviour.
“EasyEquities is perfect for first time investors as it offers a demo account, which can be used to familiarise yourself with the markets you are interested in, before investing actual money.
“Existing EasyEquities clients can easily sign in and link their accounts. New clients can follow the registration process and then start investing.”
Capitec’s announcement comes on the back of a growing number of South Africans who have turned to stock investing in recent months.
Similarly, more banks are coming on board to offer South Africans an opportunity to invest in local and global stocks.
Recently, First National Bank (FNB) made it possible for customers and institutional investors to own fractional shares in some of the world’s leading technology companies.
FNB says investors can buy fractional shares for as little as R10 in companies such as Amazon, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Netflix, Tesla, Coca Cola and Google parent company Alphabet.
The shares can be accessed through FNB’s share trading platform via FNB online or the FNB app.
In June, Sharenet, a local Internet-based share trading company, announced plans to introduce new services which allow investors to buy unit trusts, conduct online banking and invest in global and local funds.
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